“No answer from DC 911 emergency”

Ed. Note: Should you see anyone in such a state, deceased or not, please call 911 immediately (not 311) presuming, hopefully, they will answer. Another reader writes: “you can pick up free Narcan at a pharmacy and get a quick training. DC Fire & EMS also has periodic training on hands-only CPR.”

“Dear PoPville,

Sunday at 1:46pm I called 311 police non-emergency to report a man in NW (near Adams Morgan) who appeared deceased from a heroin overdose. His lips looked blue and I saw visible narcotic paraphernalia attached to him. I waited on hold with 311 police non-emergency for exactly 10 minutes before hanging up. I then immediately dialed 911 hoping to get a quicker response. I waited on hold with 911 for 9 minutes before hanging up. I hung up because while waiting on hold I had walked to the nearby third district MPD station. At the MPD third district station

I waited for a receptionist (unclear if they are sworn officers) but there was a line of four people in front of me reporting crimes and I had an appointment to get to, so at 2:11 after 7 minutes of waiting — and 25 total minutes of trying — I sadly gave up and left. I never even got to speak to anyone from 311, 911, or police third district. It’s tragic for this man who I saw on the street and who was almost certainly dead but whom I have no relation to. What scares me the most is what if the 911 call was for my infant child choking or a house fire or something where 9 minutes (or frankly, 25 minutes) was the difference between life and death. Is there someone like an inspector general I can report this to?”

Update from OUC:

“The Office of Unified Communications is investigating the issue and will reach out to the resident directly. If any other residents have any feedback for The Office of Unified Communications, please use the feedback form.

We acknowledge there has been an increase in our call wait time. Like many of our public safety partners, we are experiencing a staffing shortage in our field of work. We are working to overcome that staffing shortage by creating a robust pipeline of individuals to become 911 call takers and dispatchers and working to fill vacancies as quickly as we can. We have been participating in job fairs across all eight wards; have implemented a hiring bonus; and developed the Junior Academy (Next cohort scheduled for Thursday, September 21, 2023) to bring awareness to 911 as a career in our city’s high schools.

OUC remains committed to answering every call and text made to our center and ensuring we’re doing our part as the first of the first responders. We know that 911 calls going into the queue is not optimal, and we are dedicated to minimizing those experiences for our neighbors. We are strategically addressing our recruitment, training, staffing, and retention process. For example, the previous OUC hiring process took, on average, six (6) months. By adding a continuous recruitment cycle and a prospect day every month, our Agency has reduced the six (6) month process by about 50%. OUC has also launched a Citizen Engagement Academy (The first cohort launches on June 22, 2023) to introduce more people to our Agency. We also offer tours of the Unified Communications Center to familiarize individuals with our operations.”